ANOTHER DENIED ENTRY: This time the maid who was beaten by a Saudi Princess. Result:

Suryono left the United States to attend her mother’s funeral in Indonesia. However, she was denied a visa to return to Florida because immigration authorities feared she might try to stay in the country illegally. The Violence Against Women Act, passed in 1994, allows non-citizens to be granted visas to attend criminal trials.

Without Suryono as a witness, Assistant State Attorney Mike Saunders went ahead with negotiating a no contest plea for misdemeanor battery charges. The Florida Circuit Court judge accepted the plea–which allows the defendant to accept punishment without admitting or denying guilt–and placed al-Saud, currently in Saudi Arabia, on unsupervised probation. The princess was also fined $1,000 and court fees. The probation will most likely not affect al-Saud’s ability to get a visa to re-enter the United States. . . .

Suryono’s attorney, Russell Troutman, expressed concern about the fairness of the immigration department’s action. “Why in the world wouldn’t they give her a visa?” Troutman asked. “I’m speculating that it was an attempt on the part of the administration to do a favor for the royal family.”

Outrageous.